Building a safer and more secure region

Can you highlight the main challenges in the fire safety business in the region and explain how you are tackling these challenges at Honeywell Life Safety?

Mark Fenton. There is mixed awareness and usage of fire and safety codes and standards in this region, especially the conflict between the US and European standards for design and product approvals. Generally there is no set regulatory preference, leaving the choice up to individual regulators and system designers, leading to inconsistent design quality.

Some markets have yet to fully mandate the use of fire detection in buildings, especially medium rise apartment blocks, leaving many residents exposed to potential fire hazards. Where the mandate is there, technology is rarely paid for, as the rule is 'bare essentials' to comply, instead of 'safety first'. This in part is driven by commercial pressures to keep costs to minimum.

Another challenge is the awareness and need for maintenance to keep systems fully tested and operational, especially smoke detectors, which can easily get dirty and need regular cleaning to be fully functional. Change in some markets, like the UAE where they have been proactive in pushing compliance, is good to see.

In this difficult economic climate how can customers ensure they get true value for money and peace of mind?

MF. Hazards are indiscriminate to life and property and we work within tightly scripted 'codes and standards' that are backed by years of testing and experience. So the answer is by ensuring that your safety system provider is a reputable manufacturer, that they have globally recognized approved products, local support capabilities, full backup capabilities and a fully endorsed local service provider. It's easy to ignore the value of good quality safety systems until something goes wrong!

What differentiates Honeywell Life Safety from others in the market?

MF. To start with, we have a strong regional presence, with offices in UAE, KSA and Egypt and with local warehousing, in JAFZA being implemented to support the growth in the region. We focus on the market, we listen and we remain proactive in all areas.

A key differentiator is our multi-brand business. This means we don't shoehorn products to fit solutions; we have the right products to fit each unique problem. It's backed by years of experience and industry leading technology that enhances safety, responsiveness and system longevity.

Safety is what we live and breath, we are not a multi-discipline generalist, we are a specialist. This is what we do - globally! To implement that, we have a great team of experts in sales and training. We are the only company outside the U.S. and UK endorsed to deliver the NFPA 72 code of practice and the FIA design course for BS5839. We invest in our people with constant training so we can be the leading experts providing the best advice to our clients.

What can we expect to see from Honeywell Life Safety MEA in the coming 12 to 24 months?

MF. We will strive to achieve the same level of growth across the region, with the same strategy of evolution, not revolution. We work in a highly regulated market so change is slow for good reason. We intend to continue to raise awareness with focus on training, including codes and standards, design applications etc. We are also moving to new offices in Dubai in order to increase our supply chain focus as well as open a new training facility. Our overall objective being to localise more so we can get closer to our customers and our market. You can also always count on us to deliver new cutting-edge products; it's the life blood of our company.

Mark Fenton is Business Leader of Honeywell Life Safety, MEA, responsible for fire safety for MEA and safety products for MEAI. He has 25 years of experience in the industry, 14 of which are with Honeywell and has been in Dubai for the past five years.